Love Etched in Ice
by At the Threshold
Summary: When Queen Elsa declares a national sport for Arendelle, Kristoff and Anna are whirled away to the graceful and competitive world of ice dancing. Follow the couple's journey through the eyes of Kristoff, the new prince whose clumsiness threatens to render his ice dancing debut impossible.


**Love Etched in Ice**

Chapter 1 – The Spark

For many years I believed that gaining a wife and a royal title was the most outlandish and drastic thing I would ever accomplish. After the initial shock of becoming a husband and a prince wore off and I began again to tread through life with ease, another life-altering occurrence transpired. No, I was not to become a father. Anna and I had a few more years of wedded bliss to enjoy before a child would join us. No, Anna had a different announcement to make one frigid December morning…

"Kristoff! Kristoff!" Anna called, proclaiming her ecstasy as she bounded down the halls of the castle. I had emerged from a conference room with Lord Roald and Lord Osvald to meet the sight of Anna flying past staggered servants and astonished nobility. Once her eyes met my amused ones, she managed to skid to a halt directly in front of the bewildered lords. While I had eventually learned to expect anything from my wife, no matter how quirky or bizarre, the lords were less accustomed to her girlish habits. Nevertheless, courtesy required them to contain their disapproval and bow. Recovering slightly from her flight, Anna tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and greeted the lords. "Oh, Lord Roald and Lord Osvald…Good day to you." I could easily interpret her slight fidgeting as a sign of her attempts to suppress the excitement that had sent her barreling down the hallways.

As soon as the men had excused themselves, sensing Anna's desperate need to impart news, I ventured to inquire after her euphoric behavior. "Anna, why -"

"Oh, Kristoff!" she squealed, promptly interrupting me. "I have the most _wonderful_ idea!"

Sensing that her current idea might be as preposterous as her past endeavors, I said flatly, "No, dear, we are not going to build a snowman village for Olaf to live in. The last one collapsed within an hour and nearly buried the poor guy alive."

"But - "

"Or climb to the top of the tallest spire of the castle to watch the Northern Lights! And nearly die multiple times!"

"But - "

"Or jump off a 50 foot cliff into the ocean!"

"But - "

"Or hoist my underwear to the top of the royal flagpole!"

"But - "

"Or sneak out to our honeymoon cabin in the middle of a very important conference!"

"That was your - "

"Or smother me in chocolate!"

"Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed in unequivocal frustration. "Let me speak!" Satisfied with the deliverance of my daily teasing, I remained silent and urged her with a raised eyebrow. Her furrowed brow and disgruntled scowl immediately melted away into a rapturous grin as her speech accelerated to incalculable speeds. "You will _never_ guess what Elsa has done! I mean Queen Elsa! Wait, I'm just talking to you, and she's my sister after all, so I'll just call her Elsa. You'll never guess what _Elsa_ has done! It's the grandest idea I've ever heard! Much better than those other ideas you mentioned! And we will have such fun! Oh, I can't wait! I just can't! Oh, come on, try to guess!"

To humor my overly-enthused wife, and began to formulate a conjecture. "She - "

"No, no!" Anna interrupted. "Far better than that! See, I told you you'd never guess, but no, you didn't believe me. Well I don't know if I should tell you now." She paused for a short breath, realized that I wasn't in a fit of tears from the threat of receiving no information about her idea, and continued to ramble. "Well, you know the ice rink Elsa created in the center of town? Not the one in the courtyard, she had to thaw that one because the old lords like Lord Sigurd and Lord Halvard kept slipping. And the skating children were kind of in the middle of traffic. But now the skate park in the middle of the town is much more successful. So successful that Elsa has even proclaimed a national sport of Arendelle! Can you believe it? Arendelle has its own sport! She created it completely by herself! We have to be a part of it! We can be a team, just you and me, how does that sound? Well? Huh? Can we? _Please?_" Having completely exhausted her air supply, she momentarily ceased speaking, allowing me time to decipher her words.

From what I gathered, Queen Elsa devised a new pastime and proclaimed it Arendelle's national sport. Also, it was somehow related to ice, for what did the Snow Queen create that wasn't frozen? Anna was more than enthusiastic about taking part in this activity, whatever it was, and she was especially bent on persuading me to join her. Not only did I have my wife's wishes to consider, but as the prince of Arendelle I had my people to regard. If I displayed interest in the queen's new scheme, and set the example for the Arendellians, perhaps the pompous nobility would show me less disdain and cease to call me an "ignorant barbarian." Although that title was most becoming in my opinion, Anna was not particularly fond of it. Also, this sport might benefit the people in some way, and if nothing else entertain them. And this sport was on _ice_. Ice was my element! I had been raised on it, felt a connection to it, and almost revered it. How bad could an ice sport be?

I was awakened from my contemplation by Anna's increased pleas, which she fervently delivered with sparkling blue eyes and a pouting lip. With a smile, recognizing my utter powerlessness against the whims of the woman I deeply loved, I assented. "All right, Anna, I suppose…"

Those words were all Anna required to be transported into pure bliss. "Oh, Kristoff, I knew you'd agree!" she exclaimed, seizing my hands and hopping about. After a moment of her uncontrolled bouncing, I found myself ardently embraced by the princess of Arendelle. "You're the most wonderful husband in the world!" she expressed, gazing up at me with glittering eyes. "You're so sweet and handsome and gorgeous and _hot_ – wait what?"

With a chuckle of embarrassment I detected a red hue rising in her cheeks. Although it had definitely not been the first time she had described me with that particular adjective, she had not until now declared it with such passion in the presence of others. I was certain that her loud exclamation had captured the attention of every soul in the east wing of the castle, but I was resolved upon ignoring them for a few moments more. Anna was in my arms, after all! Wrapping my arms tightly around her petite frame, I held her silently and closed my eyes. Either embarrassment or enchantment had silenced her as she rested her head against my chest. After a number of seconds had elapsed, my brain returned to its functioning mode and remembered a most vital question. "Anna, what sport have I just agreed to?"

Reanimated from the renewal of a most enthralling topic, Anna lifted her head and met my gaze with excitement. "Ice dancing!"

A most terrible fate was sealed at that moment. Ice _dancing_? Not ice skating, ice sledding, ice sliding, ice harvesting, ice sculpting, ice running, ice eating, but ice _dancing?_ Dancing! The thing I loathed almost as much as watching Anna freeze to death! I had stumbled through a few balls in my life, most memorably at my wedding, but every minute was pure agony. Of all the glorious things one could do with ice, Elsa and Anna desired to dance on it? I'd rather tinkle on the darn thing! If I couldn't tell my right foot from my left on a perfectly stable ballroom floor, how was I possibly supposed to survive dancing on ice? What was Anna thinking?

And yet, bizarre things were about to transpire…


End file.
